Critique request: Hanna, Ship's Navigator Artifact deck

[crankylinuxuser]

EDH/Commander help . Thanks for taking the time to look at what I'm doing here. This is my first real attempt at making a UW-artifact commander deck. My goal is to hit fast, hit hard, and protect everything while doing both.

Commander: [[Hanna, Ship's Navigator]]

I chose Hanna because she has graveyard recur built in. 50 cards in my library can be brought from graveyard to hand with Hanna. 2 of my lands can also recur artifacts and enchantments respectively. Mana costs are higher because of artifact dominance, but is low in spells and abilities that require certain colors.

Decklist: https://deckstats.net/decks/165665/1933312-hanna-the-artificer/en

Meta Example: In my group, we tend to shy away from "I win you lose" infinite combos. (Think of infinite turns, infinite damage to all opponents, etc). We don't mind complex boardstate. MLD is tolerated if you're in a good position and you're trying for the win. MLD to prolong the game is frowned upon. Large amounts of mana/creatures is fine - just as long as people have a bit of time to respond to them.

Budget: I would consider up to $50 per card to swap. Hopefully I won't have to go that far.

Deck Objectives: I'm able to recur artifacts and enchantments from the graveyard and hand and library - this facilitates me in having ways to cheat things in and out with ease. Blockers block but go away with something bigger coming out. Destroyed/graveyarded enchantments and artifacts are only there temporarily - they'll be back.

In the middle of this, I have 2 ways to gain indestructibility and 2 ways to be untargetable. And with a [[Platinum Angel]], will be annoying even if brought to 0 or milled out.

I have plenty of cards to get me cards either in hand and/or cards in graveyard. The graveyard hit doesn't hurt, since I can bring most of them back out.

I also have a isochron scepter... And all my instants are 1 or 2 CMC. Of course, my sweet play will be to enlightened tutor on isochron scepter and draw answers/bombs.

Deck Win Conditions: I have 3 different wincons: First is to swing with a pile of massive creatures. Secondly, is to [[Aetherflux Reservoir]] after playing a pile of cheap/free artifacts. Third is to outright kill target player with a [[Mirrodin Besieged]]

[crankylinuxuser]

Requested Analysis from https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,42562.0.html


Lands:
1 Academy Ruins
1 Buried Ruin
1 Command Tower
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Glimmervoid
1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Inventors' Fair
9 Island
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Phyrexia's Core
6 Plains
1 Prairie Stream
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Urza's Mine
1 Urza's Power Plant
1 Urza's Tower

Mana ramp:
1 Arcane Signet
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Blinkmoth Urn
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Expedition Map
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Krark-Clan Ironworks
1 Skyclave Relic
1 Sol Ring
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Unwinding Clock
1 Voltaic Key
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Burnished Hart
1 Ethereum Sculptor
1 Foundary Inspector
1 Mycosynth Golem
1 Prismite
1 Solemn Simulacrum


Spell Removal:
1 Counterspell
1 Dovin's veto
1 Hindering Light


Creature removal:
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Duplicant
1 Memnarch
1 Meteor Golem
1 Steel Hellkite

Artifact removal:
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Aura of Silence
1 Memnarch
1 Meteor Golem
1 Steel Hellkite

Enchantment removal:
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Aura of Silence
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Memnarch
1 Meteor Golem
1 Steel Hellkite

Draw ramp / Card Advantage:
1 Anvil of Bogardan
1 Ichor Wellspring
1 Weatherlight
1 Mirrodin Besieged
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Shadow Rift
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
1 Myr Retriever
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1 Sai, Master Thopterist
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Vedalken Archmage

Meta:
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Shadow Rift
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Silent Arbiter

Theme:
1 Hanna, Ship's Navigator
1 Academy Ruins
1 Buried Ruin
1 Daksteel Citadel
1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
1 Inventor's Fair
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Urza's Mine
1 Urza's Power Plant
1 Urza's Tower
1 Aetherflux Reservoir
1 Darksteel Forge
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Mirrorworks
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Voltaic Key
1 Weatherlight
1 Hanna's Custody
1 Mirrormade
1 Dance of the Manse
1 Arcum Daggson
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Duplicant
1 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Kuldotha Forgemaster
1 Master Transmuter
1 Master of Etherium
1 Memnarch
1 Metalwork Colossus
1 Meteor Golem
1 Mycosynth Golem
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Myr Retriever
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Platinum Angel
1 Sai, Master Thopterist
1 Shimmer Myr
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Sun Titan
1 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog


Wincon:
1 Aetherflux Reservoir (mass damage to the face)
1 Mirrodin Besieged (target player loses)
1 Dance of the Manse (mass swarm)
1 Tezzeret the Seeker (mass swarm)


Identified combos:
(Use of any of the spells each turn)
1 Unwinding Clock +
1 Isochron Scepter + (
1 Counterspell
1 Dovin's Veto
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Hindering Light
1 Shadow Rift
1 Swords to Plowshares )

(Continual tax and destruction to Artifacts and Enchantments
1 Hanna, Ship's Navigator +
1 Aura of Silence

[crankylinuxuser]

Cards I have but not in deck:

Azorius Cluestone
terrarion
dreamstone hedron
vision charm
The antiquities war
thirst for knowledge
anticipate
negate
rewind
fact or fiction
into thin air
render silent
hedron archive
merchant's dockhand
scourglass
basalt monolith
silverskin armor
endbringer
claws of gix
thopter spy network
open the vaults
tempered steel
gold myr
mycosynth wellspring
cogwork assembler
efficient construction
all that glitters
riddlesmith
arcanist's owl
sharding sphinx
inkwell leviathan
scuttling doom engine
thopter assembly
thran temporal gateway
bident of thassa
swiftfoot boots
azorius locket
azorius signet
time wipe
myrsmith
umbilicus
whirler rogue
hope of ghirapur
ravnica at war
cloud key

I also have a energy field dramatic reversal and a orim's chant on order.

I'm aware that the Dramatic Reversal is an infinite untap comboand Orim's Chant is a perma-lockout.

[Slyvester12]

If your goal is to hit fast, your average CMC is too high and you have too little ramp. You also don't really have much in the way of splashy cards or bombs. This seems to be a pretty straightforward midrange beats deck, but your top end beater is Darksteel Colossus or Traxos. You have a few effects to cheat out artifacts, but they all feel a little slow and it looks like nothing in the deck really synergizes with Hanna.

You mentioned that your wincons are Aetherflux Reservoir, Mirrodin Besieged, Dance of the Manse, and Tezzeret the Seeker. You have four and a half ways to gain life. Inventors' Fair, Phyrexia's Core, Tranquil Cove, Swords to Plowshares, and Aetherflux Reservoir. The first two aren't abusable at a max of one life per turn, the third is a one-time effect, Swords to Plowshares only counts for a half because it should be removal, and Aetherflux Reservoir likely won't make you much life with your mana costs. Mirrodin Besieged is better, but it only makes one opponent at a time lose and you have to have fifteen artifacts in your graveyard, which seems like a lot without mill or entomb effects. Dance of the Manse also needs things in the graveyard and doesn't look like it'll ever win you a game outright. Finally, Tezzeret the Seeker has to last for at least a whole turn without getting hit to go off, plus it suffers from the same problem as Dance of the Manse. Would 5-8 5/5s win the game?

All of that being said, I don't know your meta and this deck might be very powerful for your playgroup. You said that you don't like "I win you lose infinite combos," but there's quite a bit that can be done to strengthen this deck short of infinite combos. Is this deck pretty typical for your group, or can you give a bit more info about what is typical? Do you usually prefer aggro, or are there other archetypes that are prevalent? Also, you said you wanted recommendations under $50. Does that make your total budget $5,000? If not, do you have a total budget in mind?

[crankylinuxuser]

Thank you much for doing a review @Slyvester12 . after your comments, I've made the following choices...

https://deckstats.net/decks/165665/1950704-uw-artifact

Out:
Aetherflux Reservoir  (As you said, I don't have the adequate resources for lifegain in this deck. Completely agree.)
Kuldotha Forgemaster (requires 3 artifacts to sac and is slow.)
Prismite (2cmc and only fixes color of mana. can do better with actual mana/landrocks)
Reliquary Tower (Commander synergizes with discarding artifact/enchantments)
Dance of the Manse (4/4's aren't going to win me much, if at all)
Mirrorworks (5cmc AND costs 2 per artifact copied. Only very few artifacts would be useful copied.)

IN:
Wanderer's Twig (gets land, synergises with commander for recurring)
Traveler's Amulet (gets land, synergises with commander for recurring)
Terrarion (provides mana, destroy self, and card draw - synergizes with commander)
Cloud Key (makes all my artifacts 1 cheaper, lowering curve for most of deck)
Colossus of Akros (10/10 indestructible wall that turns into a 20/20 indestructible trampler)
All that Glitters (later game this can make any creature into a 10/10 or larger, and if graveyarded is recurrable with commander)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Because of the Colossus of Akros, my overall mana curve went up, but mana providers went up in quantity by 4 (I think the averaging of CMC is betraying that).

I also missed previously from my wincons the large beaters I have. I'd say those are Colossus of Akros, Darksteel Colossus, Master of Ethereum (gets huge later game), Metalwork Colossus, Myr Battlesphere, Soul of New Phyrexia, Steel Hellkite, Sun Titan, Traxos Scourge of Kroog, All that glitters (attached to any creature).

I was considering adding Storm Herd as a 'I win you will lose'... but they'll only be 1/1 flyers and I have no real strat to lifegain.

I mentioned Tezzeret The Seeker as a possible wincon, primarily from the 3rd ability. However the first can get me loads more mana, and the second can get me up to 4cmc artifact tutor into play.

Now regarding the cost, I'd like to put no more than, say $150 into this deck. Probably a better way to put that!

Thank you again!

[Judaspriester]

Just a nutpick that catched my eye:
Temple of Enlightenment & Tranquil Cove
Do you really need those two for colorfixing? Something like Talisman of Progress may be the better option.

[crankylinuxuser]

Yep, I just need to go buy a talisman of Progress - its my only reason it's not in there.

If I was to put it in, I'd take out the Tranquil Cove - taplands suck. At least the other one gives me a scry1.

If I was to take both out, what mana artifact would you recommend alongside the talisman?

[Judaspriester]

Yep, I just need to go buy a talisman of Progress - its my only reason it's not in there.

If I was to put it in, I'd take out the Tranquil Cove - taplands suck. At least the other one gives me a scry1.

If I was to take both out, what mana artifact would you recommend alongside the talisman?

Hmm... most of the good rocks are already in and I don't think we need to talk about money cards like Land Tax, Tithe, or Mana Crypt.  Fellwar Stone would be a possible option. Azorius Signet would also work but has the problem, that you can't use it alone.
Besides that, Chromatic Sphere and Chromatic Star would maybe fit into the theme, but I'm not sure their performance would justify a slot.

[TropicalBoi]

So, I don't know if this would help the gameplan of your deck at all, but maybe some untappers for Hanna? Cards like Thousand-Year Elixir, Unbender Tine, Magewright's Stone, Mirran Spy, or Staff of Domination could really propel your gameplan by letting you activate Hanna more than once a turn.

[Potato Chop]

Corridor Monitor for stupidness? Just an idea, synergises with Hanna pretty well. If you’ve got mana, you can dig it back, play it, untap Hanna (or another artifact or whatever) then dig again. Otherwise, it’s just good for combos.

[crankylinuxuser]

Awesomeness...

So here's the changes I've made thanks to Potato Chop, TropicalBoi, Judaspriester, Slyvester12


-1 voltaic Key (Staff of Domincation is strictly better and gives better overall effects)
-1 Arcum Daggson (Too slow, and cannot recur from graveyard *when* killed)
-1 Shadow Rift (Was in there for giving free evasion hit and card draw)
-1 Hindering Light (Not a great counterspell)
-1 Tranquil Cove (Taplands generally suck...)

+1 Mox Opal  (Substitute for land, and one hell of an upgrade)
+1 Staff of Domination (substitute for voltaic key, and gives commander and others reuse)
+1 Dispatch (another removal without any benefit, synergizes with isochron scepter)
+1 Energy Arc (blue white selective fog, synergizes with isochron scepter)
+1 Orim's Chant (doesnt just counter but instead stops spells and attacks cold, synergizes with isochron scepter)


https://deckstats.net/decks/165665/1933312-hanna-the-artificer